death wish

American  

noun

1. desire for one's own death or for the death of another.

2. Psychiatry. a suicidal desire, manifested by passivity, withdrawal, and absorption in nihilistic thoughts, that may eventually lead to suicidal behavior.

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death wish British  

noun

1. (in Freudian psychology) the desire for self-annihilation See also Thanatos

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Etymology

Origin of death wish

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

If Evy is virtually alone in a house where strange noises are occurring at all hours, what would possess her to put on noise-canceling headphones, other than a death wish?

From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026

The director has said that he interprets the death wish in the opera as part of the cycle of rebirth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

An attack on him was a "death wish by the attacker" he said, and he thanked Congress for approving more money for the Secret Service.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2024

I don’t have some kind of death wish.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2023

Perhaps going north would be the unexpected choice; no one went north in winter unless they had a death wish.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas